


Wish Verse

by InBetweens



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Enchanted Forest AU, F/F, Femslash, Happy Ending, Major character death - Freeform, Multi, Swan Queen - Freeform, Swan Queen Week entry, dark themes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-21
Updated: 2014-05-21
Packaged: 2018-01-26 00:16:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1667735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InBetweens/pseuds/InBetweens
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Henry wants to protect Snow White from Regina after The Miller's Daughter and the death of Cora. He seeks help from Rumpelstiltskin to make a wish to protect his only remaining grandmother. One wish. Little does he know that by making this wish he changes everything, and everyone's destiny. SwanQueen. Character Death in first chapter. Angst. Be warned this story deals with dark themes. Set in two different worlds. How can one wish change the course of everyone's lives?  Previous entry into the first Swan Queen Week last summer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me after thinking about what Henry would wish for when he blew out his candles in Rumple's nightmare/dream. It morphed from there into this epic tale with full on back stories and information that you the reader probably will only see glimpses of throughout the story. (Charts and lists of things five pages long) I hope to finish it quickly but my time isn't always mine to dedicate. I hope you enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed writing it.
> 
> Thank you to mooglesmuse for her editing skills and assistance with this story.

****Warning:**   _This chapter deals with the death of a main character._**

 

* * *

 

**Prologue**

Wishes.

Making wishes by blowing out a single candle on top of a cupcake or several mounted on top of a birthday cake.

Being granted wishes by fairy godmothers who want to help you or evil magic folk who wish you harm.

Wishes in general.

Everyday people make them in passing. They wish for that person's shoes, or that person's lunch or they get extreme and wish for a person's entire life.

Lately wishes were all Henry Mills could think about.

As a younger boy he made a dozen wishes a day. Sometimes he'd wish for a dad or for extra ice cream after dinner. He'd even wished on occasion that his mom wasn't his mom. The first time he'd wished that Regina Mills wasn't his mom was when he was six. It had been an accident. He hadn't meant it.

He made that wish after they had gotten into a fight over a silly TV show. He had just wanted to watch television for another hour. There was a movie on that went passed his bedtime and he had really been enjoying it. He didn't understand why his mom couldn't just let him watch the end of it. He had finished all his homework and studied for the math test he had the next day. There was no reason why he shouldn't be allowed to watch the show.—Even if it would end at eleven thirty; almost four hours passed his bedtime.—it hadn't been fair.

So he'd yelled at his mom as he stomped up the stairs—because she hated it when he stomped his feet on the stairs—that he wished she wasn't his mom after she had inevitably won the argument.

He was six and angry and didn't recognize the pain in his mother's gasp or the hurt that reflected in her watery eyes.

It had been silly and stupid and he'd regretted it an hour later after his mom had come to tuck him in. He'd ignored her. She'd kissed the top of his head, straightened his blanket, and whispered that she loved him. She said that even if he didn't want her as his mom she was proud to have him as her son. He'd crossed his arms, huffed, and turned his head away because she knew just how to make him feel even worse about his outburst. She knew just what to say to make him realize he had been silly, but he hadn't taken back his wish.

He should have taken back his wish.

The very next day he went into school and had an allergic reaction to a piece of strawberry shortcake a father brought in for his son's birthday. He had trouble swallowing and his face and hands felt really hot. His neck got itchy. Then he had trouble breathing. That's when it got really scary.

He had to go the hospital. And he was scared the whole ride there. Ms. Blanchard was with him but all he kept wishing was that his mom was there holding his hand. He just wanted his mom. She could make it better. She always made him feel better when he was scared or sick or upset. She'd hold him and kiss him and promise that things would get better and they always did. She was his personal super hero righting all the wrongs in his life and he adored her, even if he got mad at her for not letting him stay up to watch TV.

The EMTs gave him a mask with oxygen and a lot of shots. His mom came to the hospital and she looked so scared until she saw him. He had stopped crying by then but as soon as he saw her tears he started crying again and didn't try and hide it. He may be a big boy now but he was scared and needed his mommy. She ran over to him, one of the few times he'd seen her run in her work clothes and heels.

The last time she'd done that was when he had tripped on the sidewalk on his way back from the Sherriff's station with Graham. They'd gotten ice cream while she had one last final meeting for the day. He was four. She'd been outside talking to Marco the wood carver when he'd tripped and skinned his left leg and both his palms. He'd screamed really loud because a pebble got stuck underneath the skin of his palm and it  **really**   _really_   _ **really**_  hurt! She'd dropped her folders and ran right over to him. She'd even ruined her white shirt when she'd picked him up and carried him upstairs so they could wash the cuts, get the pebble out, disinfect it, and wrap them up. She let him have extra ice cream that night to make him feel better since he'd dropped his ice cream cone during the fall.

Just like then she covered him in kisses and hugged him so tight he wasn't scared anymore.

He slept a lot that day but when he was awake he heard the doctors asking his mom questions about her allergies and his father's allergies. She had told the doctor that she didn't know. That was odd. How could she not know what she was allergic to?

He had participated in a school wide science assembly the day before. At the assembly they learned about DNA and the 'cool' things it did. How it gave you your eye color, your height, your skin tone, good or bad eyesight, and all sorts of interesting medical stuff.

The assembly before the science one had about tolerance, kindness, and accepting things and people who are different from you. There had been talk about different types of family and how it didn't matter if there was only one parent at home—whether that be a mom or a dad or a grandparent or uncle or even a guardian—that family was always family because of the love in the home not the blood.

His mom never talked about his father and that was okay. He didn't really ask after that first time when he was four and wanted to know where to send his father's day card since they made them in class. His mom got really quiet for a while as she stared at him. She picked him up and sat him down on her lap, tilted his chin so he was looking up at her and not down at the card he had made that he'd wrinkled with how tight he was holding it, and she told him that his father was far away. He'd asked if he was ever going to come back and she'd looked down at the card he was holding and whispered that he wasn't.

He'd been upset and sad and Regina did her best to keep him happy. She asked him about the card and he'd showed it to her and they talked about how much she loved him. They made dinner together that night and he remembered laughing a lot and smiling and thinking he didn't need a dad. Not when he had his mom.

The assembly told them that it didn't matter if your family was different. It didn't matter if your blood wasn't the same as your parents' or if you had two parents—two moms, two dads, or a mom and a dad.

They said it didn't matter but as they talked about DNA and blood relations and how you get brown eyes instead of blue or blonde hair instead of red or were allergic to strawberries instead of blueberries. DNA mattered.

It mattered. It made other families a family. But not his.

While the doctors and his mom thought he was sleeping they talked about adoption and how his mom adopted him. She wasn't his birth mom. She didn't share his DNA. She wasn't blood related to him so she didn't know if he was allergic to anything else.

Lying in the hospital bed pretending to sleep his heart raced and he felt all sweaty again and felt like he couldn't breathe. It didn't make sense and it made him sad and angry. The monitor started beeping funny and his mom and the doctors came running in and he didn't pretend anymore. He turned and wrapped his arms around his mom's waist and pressed his face up against her stomach and apologized. He apologized and apologized and apologized as he cried into his mother's stomach and squeezed her tight. Even the sound of her heartbeat against his ear didn't comfort him like it usually did.

Because for Henry it all went back to that wish. He'd wished that Regina wasn't his mom. And the very next day Henry learned that Regina Mills wasn't his mom.

Not his birth mom. Not the mom he thought he had. Sure she was still the same but they didn't share blood and that made them different. Made their family even more different then just not having a dad and a mom.

Things were different now. Now he knew things he didn't know then. His mother wasn't only not his birth mom but she was the Evil Queen and his birth mom was The Savior. There had been a curse over the people of Storybrooke and he had been the one to convince Emma to break the curse. She broke it by kissing him. True Love's kiss broke the curse and everyone started to remember. Then Mr. Gold brought magic to Storybrooke and everything was as it was supposed to be. Except everyone was really mad at his mom about the curse because they could remember so he'd made Emma promise to protect her. She was still his mom.

So Emma did. Emma protected his mom and his family got a lot bigger. Then it got smaller because Emma and Snow were taken away because of his mom but he got to live with his grandpa for a few months. Now Emma and Snow White were back and his family was even bigger now.

He had Emma, her parents Snow White and Prince Charming, he had his new granddad Mr. Gold and his dad Neal. He also had his mom but he didn't see her much anymore because she was the Evil Queen and was the reason everyone in Storybrooke didn't have their happy endings, but she was still his mom. He loved her and wanted her to be good. She had been doing well before Cora showed up and framed her for Archie's murder. He had gotten mad at his mom for killing Archie. Archie had been his friend when no one else was and he'd been really sad and angry to lose him. He told his mom he never wanted to see her again—again.

He had been wrong though, they all had. His mom hadn't killed Archie, she was still good. But before he could apologize and tell her that he still loved her she'd started working with Cora. And Cora wasn't good, she was even scarier than his mom and Mr. Gold put together. She had to be stopped.

This time it wasn't Emma that saved the day though, it was Snow White. She'd stopped Cora but because Snow White stopped Cora his mom was mad.  _Really_  mad. Everyone was scared, even him. He didn't know what it was that Snow White did to stop Cora but he couldn't let his mom  _kill_  her for it. Snow White was Snow White, she couldn't die.

Besides! His mom was trying to do better, to be good, and to be his  _mom_  again. If she killed Snow White then it would all be over, he could never forgive her.

So before school was over Henry skipped class so he could get the help he needed from Mr. Gold. He told Mr. Gold he needed something magical. He brought his allowance with him. He knew that wasn't how Mr. Gold worked since he knew he was Rumpelstiltskin but he didn't know what kind of deal Mr. Gold could want to make with him. He was only ten after all. He only really had his comic books and his allowance that were worth anything of value.

"Well, Henry, what a surprise. What can I do for you today?" Since Mr. Gold found out that Neal was Henry's father he'd been nice to Henry. But Henry knew there was still something off about Mr. Gold. It was the way that Mr. Gold looked at him. He wasn't ever really happy to see him. It was the same way that his mom looked at Snow White before the curse broke. It was like he had to play nice even though he really didn't want to.

"I need a way to make sure my mom can't hurt Mary Margaret." Henry told his grandfather as he looked around the shop, his eyes scanning over the items of the shop. They all had their magical properties back since Magic was in Storybrooke. He just didn't know what he needed.

"I'm afraid I don't have anything that can help with that, deary. Your mother is quiet set on getting her revenge." Rightly so in Mr. Gold's opinion.

"She can't though! She can't!" Henry was desperate. Mr. Gold only ever made deals with desperate souls and he was as desperate as they came. He couldn't let his mom kill Mary Margaret. If she killed her then she could never have her own happy ending. " _Please,_  you have to have something.  _Anything_  that can help!"

Mr. Gold leaned heavily on his cane for a moment as he studied Henry's wide pleading eyes. He glanced towards one of the display cases that had a display of coins of all different styles and types. The silver, gold, copper, and stone coins were all mounted with on blue velvet cushioning.

"Perhaps there is something…" Mr. Gold trailed off as he slowly limped his way behind the counter.

Henry's eyes traveled to the same display case and he rushed over to it, his hands pressing against the glass as he looked at the shimmering coins that Mr. Gold put on top of the glass display. Henry watched as Mr. Gold waved his open palm over the coins, circling around them all twice before he stopped, and picked up one specific coin by pinching it tightly between his fingers.

Mr. Gold held the coin up to Henry's eye level and pulled it away just before Henry could take it. "This is a very special coin Henry. It can help you grant one wish. But only one wish."

"How do I make the wish?" Henry asked, eyes riveted on the sparkling and magically shimmering silver coin.

"Like you would with any coin. You throw it in a fountain of course. Or in this case the wishing well."

Henry nodded his head, he could do that. That seemed really easy. He reached out for the coin again but Mr. Gold pulled it back.

"You know Henry that all magic…"

"Comes with a price. I know! I know!" Henry didn't mean to seem rude but he really needed that coin and he knew that all magic came with a price. He was the one that told others that more often than not. This would be worth it. The consequences would be worth it. Henry peered up into Mr. Gold's eyes, his hazel eyes shimmering with hope and desperation. "Please…"

Mr. Gold seemed to consider his options for a moment, his eyes looking out the shop windows before he looked at Henry and placed the magic coin in Henry's waiting palm.

"What do you want in return?" Henry asked as he stared at the image of a merman with a trident above and below the water, the waves on the coin practically splashing him with water.

"Nothing." Henry eyed him curiously so he explained. "I owe your mother a favor."

Henry nodded his head, Mr. Gold always came through with his favors, he kept his deals. As he looked down his eyes caught the image of the coin once again. He turned it over to the other side and saw an owl etched into the metal. It was turning its head to look at him when he turned back to King Trident.

Mr. Gold clasped the top of his cane with both hands as he leaned on it and gazed at Henry thoughtfully. "You hold the coin in your hand and up against your heart and speak the wish aloud before you flip the coin and let it fall in the wishing well." Mr. Gold grabbed a coin from his pocket and flipped it with his thumb so that it spun around twice before he caught it again. He handed the quarter to Henry and encouraged him to flip the coin.

Henry practiced three times before he finally could flip it properly instead of it just falling off his finger.

"Thank you." Henry smiled as he looked from the coin up to Mr. Gold.

"You're welcome, Henry." His eyes shone with true gratitude that Mr. Gold almost stopped him, almost. Just as Henry made it to the shop doors Mr. Gold gave him one warning. "Be careful, Henry. Be very specific with your wish."

Henry peered back at him, holding tightly onto the coin ready to do anything to protect it. "I will." He promised before he left the shop and got onto his bike. He needed to get to the wishing well and quick, before his mom did something else.

-.-.-.-

Henry Mills in general tried not to make wishes but it was hard. He was just a kid and he wished for silly things that didn't matter. But then he also wished for big things, things that other kids probably didn't wish for. The accidental wish about his mom was why he didn't make wishes anymore. Why he tried not to anymore.

And now as he stood at the Wishing Well with Mr. Gold's magic coin in his hand his mom was the reason why he was desperate for a new wish to come true. His mom was why he needed to make this wish. He needed to stop her from killing Snow White, if she did then her heart would be black and she couldn't love him for real.

Henry looked over the edge of the wishing well down towards the bucket and the water that rested beneath. He leaned back and pulled the coin out of his pocket. He stared at it for a moment, the sun making it seem like gold rather than silver. King Trident was raising his trident up towards the clouds making them cover up the sun on the coin and the water lurch violently with big waves. The Owl on the other side twisted it's head around and around as the branch swayed with the wind from King Trident on the other side of the coin.

He licked his lips as he closed his palm around both images. He brought his clasped hand up to his chest and held it over his heart. And he thought. He thought about what he needed to wish for. Mr. Gold said to be specific. He closed his eyes.

What he wanted was for his mom not to hurt Ms. Blanchard but he also wanted his mom to be happy. He didn't want his mom to hate Snow White anymore. He didn't want his family to be torn apart. He just wanted everyone to be happy.

His eyes snapped open. Happy endings. That's what he should wish for. He wanted everyone to have their happy endings and the reason they didn't have their happy endings was because his mom cast the dark curse. He just needed to wish that she never cast the curse and then everyone would be happy again. Everyone would have their happy endings and everyone would be in the Enchanted Forest where they were supposed to be. That was it. That was his wish.

"Henry!"

Henry turned away from the well when he heard his name echo through the forest.

"Henry!" That was Emma.  
"Henry! Where are you?" And David.

"Henry!?" And Neal.

He had to hurry. They'd find him soon.

He walked as close to the wishing well as he could, grateful there was a small rise in the ground so he could still flip his coin in the right way. Standing at the well, his finger already posed and coin sitting ready to be flipped, he spoke his wish aloud, "I wish that my mom, Regina the Evil Queen, never cast the dark curse that Rumpelstiltskin the dark one gave her so that everyone stayed in the Enchanted Forest with their…"

"Henry…" Henry gasped as he turned slowly to his right, in his fright he flicked the coin, and it flipped up into the air and then started to fall down towards the well, his wish incomplete.

"Mom!" He swallowed nervously as the black and purple smoke cleared away and his mother was standing right in front of him. Her eyes were puffy and there were wrinkles around her eyes and forehead like when she had a headache or was in pain but didn't want him to know. There was a piece of paper in Regina's hand that Henry hadn't noticed before.

"What are you doing here Henry?" Regina looked around the otherwise empty forest, though the echo of the search party reached her shortly.

"I, I…" He frowned upset that his wish hadn't come true. They were still in Storybrooke. "I came to make a wish."

"Oh, what did you wish for?" Regina asked as she moved to step closer to Henry, except as she stepped forward everything around them started to shake, and she lost her balance and fell to one knee.

Regina looked around as everything stopped shaking and she began to stand up, her eyes moving to Henry immediately. "What did you wish for Henry?!" There was an urgency in her voice now, worry and maybe a bit of fear.

Just by the tree line Henry saw Emma and David and Neal come to a stop.

"You, what did you do!?" David accused, looking pointedly at Regina as he also pointed his gun.

"Henry!" Emma then noticed Regina as well. "Get away from him!" Emma demanded but was held back from charging over to them by Neal's arm.

Henry frowned, this wasn't what he wanted. He wanted everyone to be happy and especially his family.

Suddenly the ground started to groan and tremble around them again. This tremble lasted for a few seconds but was enough to knock Emma over into Neal's arms and Henry into Regina's.

"I've got you." Regina promised as she pulled Henry flush against her body to keep him upright. He was further down on the slight incline by the Wishing Well so his head only reached her stomach.

Still, Regina had trouble keeping them both up so she maneuvered them towards the Wishing Well so she was leaning against it to keep herself and Henry off the ground like the three stooges in front of them.

Across from them David struggled to remain standing and looked like he was awkwardly doing a line dance without a partner while Emma and Neal appeared to be dancing a horrible rendition of a tango.

"What the hell is going on!?" Emma called out over the groaning noise that grew louder and louder with each passing minute.

Beside Emma David's finger, already tight on his gun, tightened just a bit more. The sound of the gun shot was drowned out by the rumbling noise the ground was making and Emma's yelling for Henry. David couldn't keep his balance any longer and fell, the gun skidding away from him as he hit the ground hard.

Henry hugged Regina's waist tightly to keep upright, his eyes wide and fearful as he watched Emma, Neal, and David all fall to the ground, all three struggling to get back up. He was safe though, because his mom had him. She would keep him safe. She wouldn't let anything happen to him, she kept him grounded and on his feet.

Something warm splashed across Henry's arm and neck. His mom's arm that was tight around him slackened suddenly. He looked up at his mom, his chin pressed against her belly and saw her eyes peering down at him. He stared, confused, as her eyes lost something pivotal, the spark that was always in them whether she was sad, content, angry or happy was disappearing. He didn't understand! Why?

"Mom?" He asked softly. Suddenly, his mom's arm no longer tight around his waist but flat and heavy against her side as she canted to the left.

Regina fell. Her body collapsed limply to the ground with a rough thump; her back against the Wishing Well. Her fall caused Henry to fall to his knees as she no longer helped keep him standing. He rolled down the slight incline with the force of Regina's fall, the shaking ground helping him fall further.

"Henry!" Emma called out as she crawled closer to him, reaching her hand out for his foot. Her fingers just touched his ankle when he moved out of reach.

Henry kicked away from Emma's hand and went over to his mom. His mom's eyes were open and staring out at the woods, her head tilted at an uncomfortable angel. "MOM!" He screamed as he crawled, his fingers clawing into the dirt as he pulled himself back up to her as small pebbles and stones bounced and jiggled as they slid down the slight incline.

When he reached her, she was lying on her side, one arm outstretched and the other bent behind her the piece of parchment in her hand long forgotten. He shook Regina's shoulder to try and wake her up but his hand touched something wet and warm. He looked down at his hand after pulling it away from her black vest and stared. His hand was covered in red. In blood.

The ground continued to shake around him. The tremors becoming more violent as Emma made her way over to Henry and Regina.

"Henry!" Neal and David yelled as they watched Emma move towards mother and son.

"Damn it Regina, let him go." Emma finally pulled herself up to Henry and Regina, using her elbows and knees to army crawl up to them. As she got closer her eyes zeroed in on a steady flow of thick liquid seeping into the soil. She tracked it up to the ground just beneath Regina.

Her eyes widened as she snapped up to look at Regina's face, her eyes open and unseeing. She lost her footing and ended up sliding back down the slight incline. Her breath left her in a whoosh.

"Regina!" Emma screamed and reached out, forcing herself back up towards the fallen woman and their son. Emma grabbed at Regina's foot and hauled herself up towards her, Henry still kneeling just off to the side.

"Regina, come on Regina, you can't do this." Emma muttered as she looked for a pulse. Her heart hitched when she couldn't find one. "You can't do this to  _us_ , to the kid. Come on!" Emma ripped open her black vest and then tore open her button up shirt that cost far too much money to find where the blood was coming from. If she could just put pressure on the wound and start compressions it would all be okay. She just needed to see where the wound was. Find the wound. Stop the bleeding. Start compressions. Simple.

When the shirt fell away Emma saw the blood seeping out from Regina's chest, from a wound directly above the woman's heart. Her eyes stared, unblinking for several seconds. The world around her literally falling apart as her hands fell away. Her chest ached and her mouth was dry and it hurt. God did it hurt.

The bullet hit Regina's heart. Directly. A through and through. She had di..Regina had die…

She felt nauseous. She even heaved before she swallowed back the bile that rose.

Regina had died instantly.

Emma leaned back on her haunches, blinking slowly, a single tear falling from each eye. She forced her trembling hands to cover up the wound, as if Henry hadn't already seen it.

"Come on kid we have to go." Emma insisted as she turned to Henry, whose eyes were staring transfixed on his mother. "Henry, we have to go!" Emma shouted over the loud rumbling.

The trees creaked and some of the bark split as an earthquake roared around Storybrooke breaking glass and causing trees to start becoming uprooted, the epicenter of the tremors the Wishing Well.

"Mom…" Henry blinked once, tears falling from his eyes. "Mommy?"

It couldn't be. His mom was just sleeping. That was all! Just sleeping. Sleeping. And and cut herself. She just hit the wishing well when she fell and got cut. It wasn't a big cut. It wasn't. She was sleeping and had a small cut. That's it.

That was all.

She just needed someone to wake her up. He just had to wake her up like she woke him up every morning for school. That was what he needed to do. He needed to go over to her and kiss her cheek. Or her nose. Or her forehead. Or all three. Just like she used to when she woke him up for school. Or, or! He could tug on her hand. Or arm to wake her up. Like on Mother's Day.

This time. This time he wouldn't spill any orange juice on her clean sheets. Or spill on the toast he made her for breakfast. To surprise her.

She hadn't even gotten mad. She'd been so happy. And surprised by his efforts. She'd had tears in her eyes. He thought she was sad over his mess. He got so upset he started to cry, something he'd been doing a lot of. Because, because he just wanted to make her breakfast. He wanted to give her something special on Mother's Day. Just like any other kid would for their mom.

He became so hysterical that she'd needed to pull him up onto the bed—and it wasn't easy since he wasn't a little kid anymore. She'd sat him on the dry side of the queen sized mattress and held him close to her chest.

She'd whispered her thanks into his ear as she kissed the top of his head. She told him how much she loved him and appreciated what he was trying to do. That it was okay the toast was ruined. Now they could make breakfast together. Spend time together. But not just yet. Because he was still upset and wanted to listen to her heartbeat, his ear pressed down atop her chest as the slow steady drum calmed him down. Once he was better and the tears stopped they went downstairs and he helped his mom make apple cinnamon pancakes.

She just…she just wanted to spend time with him. Something she always wanted.

That was the last Mother's Day he'd done anything special for her. He hardly even bothered to make her a card the following three years.

But he could change that!  
He could!

He could make her a card every day that told her how much he loved her. He would spend as much time with her as she wanted. All of it. He wouldn't even go to school anymore. She just needed to, to wake up! She just needed to wake up!

"Henry please, we have to go!" Emma begged as she tried to pull on Henry's arm.

"Emma! Henry, come on!" Neal shouted as he helped David stand up, both men moving two steps to the right and then another to the left to keep themselves off the dirt.

"NO!" Henry screamed and pushed away from Emma and went over to his mom. He pushed against her shoulders and tried to jostle her awake. "Mom. Mom. Wake up. Wake up mom! You have to wake up!" Henry pleaded his shakes becoming more violent as Regina's body swayed with each tug and pull but she didn't respond to him. To his please and tears. She always responded to his tears. Always. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, please wake up. Please. I'm sorry. I want to see you. I do. I want to, please! PLEASE MOMMY."

He tried not to think about her eyes, and how they were open but saw nothing. Or how her ears were there but they heard nothing, and how no matter how hard he shook her she felt nothing.

"I'm sorry Henry. I'm so sorry. We have to go!" Emma apologized, her cheeks wet with her own tears. She wrapped her arm around Henry's stomach and lifted him up into the air. She held him tight against her side as she tried to move slowly away from Regina and the wishing well.

"NOOO. NO…MOOOOMMM!" Henry screamed as he reached out and grabbed a hold of Regina's arm, his fingers slipping down her bare skin because of the water— _notbloodnotbloodnotblood_ —on his hand. They slid down her arm and coated it red before he held tightly onto Regina's hand, lacing his fingers with hers. Unwilling to let go. He couldn't let go. She was his mom.

She was his mom!

"Mom, mom!" Henry repeated as Emma pulled at him and his hand slipped through Regina's. He stared over Emma's shoulder, watching as they got farther and farther away from his mom and the Wishing Well. The water of the well suddenly jetted out like Old Faithful, showering them all.

"What the hell is going on? What did she do?" David's accusation ticked something off in Emma, while nothing seemed to get through to Henry. His eyes still on his mother as his lips repeated the word 'mom' over and over again.

"She didn't do anything!" Emma screamed as she glared at her father, her eyes peering down to the empty gun holster. Her eyes flashed with red rage. Her grip on Henry tightened afraid she might reach out and throttle her father for what he'd done, accident or not. He'd killed Regina.  _ **Killed her**_. He could have killed Henry. He shouldn't have been waving his gun around to begin with! It was stupid and reckless and had just cost Regina her life and Henry his mother and Emma her…she wasn't sure! But David's stupidity had just cost her something greater than she could immediately explain. Not fully at least. His actions had to be handled, he had to be held accountable for his actions. He'd just killed Regina Mills. He'd  _killed_  her for no reason. Shot her, forced Henry to watch his mother collapse in front of him, and Emma, dead.

' _ **Dead…oh my god Regina's dead.'**_  Emma was about to panic, to hyperventilate and murder David all at the same time.

But she couldn't kill him. Not right now. Now certainly wasn't the time for her to dwell on it much. She'd dwell on it later, when they were safe. Away from the wishing well and the earth quake and the ominous rumbling that grew louder and louder while the sounds of trees crashing and their bark cracking sounded all around them, trapping them.

"What about Regina?" Neal asked as they stumbled away from the Well. He pushed Emma and Henry back as a tree came down, blocking their secondary exit.

Emma pointed towards one of the few unblocked paths left, her other arm tight around Henry. "She's dead." Emma's voice was cold as she said it, eyes pointedly peering at David.

"What!?" Neal and David both exclaimed before David screamed, "LOOK OUT!" He covered Emma and Henry on the right while Neal did on the left.

Their only path left disappeared as the four story high tree crashed down ten feet in front of them.

"We have to climb over them." Emma stated, it was the only way out.

"Alright let's go." David took a single step towards the tree. His added weight caused the ground to crack open.

Steam rose up through the cracks in the wet soil. The water from the well continued to shower down on them as if from a torrential down pour. As the earth quake continued the ground itself started to give way all around them. The earth beneath them was no longer solid. It started to sink like the sands in an hour glass, pulling them towards the slender open hole, trapping them like quick sand.

The only sturdy ground was the ground around the Wishing Well soaked with water and blood.

Henry's eyes remained on the well as the adults around him panicked. They were trapped. There was no way out.

This was his fault. It was his wish that did this. Not his mom. His mom was innocent. It was him. This was his consequence. It was his price to pay…not his mom's.

"I'm sorry…" Henry whispered as everything around him started to sway like the ocean waves and branch on the coin had during the storm. His arms wrapped around Emma tightly, afraid he'd lose her too.

He swallowed thickly but still felt like he was going to get sick as everything went topsy turvy. The image of his mom lying by the Wishing Well as it rained magic water down on them fizzled away into a spiral of colors that became nothing but undistinguishable blurs as they swirled around and around and around in circles.

Everything came apart.

He felt like he was falling. Like Alice down the rabbit hole. It was as if he'd been spinning around in circles with Emma holding his hands and suddenly she let go. Everything moved and spun and felt unreal as he fell in slow motion.

His grip on Emma was gone.

He screamed.

He was alone.

He was stuck in the whirlpool of blurry nothingness falling deeper and deeper and deeper! Moving faster and faster and faster.

Until!

***THUMP***

Everything went black.

He hit bottom.

**End Prologue**


	2. In A World Unlike His Own

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry sees where his wish has brought him. A land riddled with problems and people he does not know and some he does.

* * *

**Chapter One  
** ' _In a World Unlike His Own'_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

They ran; Men, women, children alike.

They ran through the shadows with capes and cloaks of all kinds flying behind them as they weaved through the trees and the overgrown woods. The sounds of twigs breaking under their feet echoed through the forest. Their hearts raced against their chests; breath heavy as they panted and worked every available muscle to push them further, faster, harder.

They turned their heads back in fright every few seconds as their adrenaline kept them light on their feet, swift. Those taller than the children covered their faces as they ran. The branches and weeds cutting into their forearms and legs as they kept moving. Slowly for many of the fleeing group beads of sweat turned to droplets of blood, skin torn by thorns.

Upturned roots tripped several. The loss of breath in their lungs as they hit the ground and their cries the last the group heard or saw of many of them. Those that fell were left behind, child or not. Death would come to them all if caught.

They could not stop.  
They had to keep on.  
Keep running.  
Keep moving forward.

The whip of cold air against flushed cheeks stung. The night was cold and the wind could be harsh in areas unblocked by forests or natures shields against the harsh weather.

Panting breaths turned to white clouds in the chill.

It did not stop them. It egged them on. Even as their lungs burned from the cold and their eyes teared with the sting of it. They ran as fast as their limbs could carry them.

Fear made them ache in pain. A pain that consumed their whole person and centered around their hearts.

Pain made them run faster.

Their ears were alert; eyes shifty as they chanced backward glances or fought against that urge. The slightest slip up would trip them and many behind them, killing them all.

Mistakes were not forgiven by the perused. So they ran.

They ran, knowing it meant death. They sought freedom and safety and risked their lives, the lives of their families for it. Life outside had to be better than life inside. It had to be. They yearned for the grass to be greener on the other side. If it weren't they had risked everything for nothing. They might as well have let the head hunters take them back at the first check point.

Not many made it passed the first check point or the second. Those that did had the highest rates of escaping. This group was midway through the first check point and the second. They only had one more, just one more and their new lives would await them. The check points were barricades marched by soldiers and head hunters alike to keep them prisoner.

Head hunters were the cruelest of their pursuers. They'd turn in their own family, probably had at one point or another. There was a sum of coin waiting for any head hunter that caught traitors, caught runners like them.

Life for a soldier, a head hunter, or the elite was prosperous. While the average villager suffered so the rich could stay comfortable. Their grass was stilted and dead here if it existed at all. They longed for the lush green of beyond, of freedom.

Times since the Evil King took the throne were hard.

Lives that were once peaceful and happy became chaotic and miserable. The land that was once the safest of them all was now the deadliest and most dangerous. Times were hard and the earth itself bespoke its dislike of the King. Crops that used to flourish and feed tens of thousands, now fed one or two thousand only.

The rich ate their fill, lived in lavish manors and estates while the villagers scavenged for food and lived in squalor. The villagers were slaves, surfs, to the bureaucrats that ruled over them with a heavy hand. No longer were their voices heard or their pleas answered.

Their outcries were met with the brandishment of swords and the spilling of blood. The Evil King burned those who spoke against him after he tortured their families in front of them, sold their female children into servitude, and killed their wives and sold their sons into slavery before he  _finally_  let them die an agonizing death. Those were the lucky ones. There were the ones that burned together. Entire villages pillaged and burned to the ground, their people locked away in their homes unable to escape.

So the Evil King's people, his surfs, learned to whisper and stay quiet. They moved slowly with heads bowed and downcast eyes so they were not noticed. When attention was brought to them it only brought sorrow and grief with it. It was in the quiet they planned and schemed and decided risk was better than none. They decided to run. Runners at least were given swift deaths at the gallows or before a firing squad.

The risk to those that ran before certain death if caught; was the chase. Those who ran and sought more, sought freedom elsewhere were hunted down like animals. Held out like prized game for all to see if caught.

If they escaped through the barricades there were the last borders. The borders of the Kingdoms were reinforced with soldiers on either side, some from the Evil King's Kingdom and others from the Kingdoms more lenient. The Evil King called these borders his wall. The villagers called them the gates that kept them inside their hellish prison. They were made to lock them away while they suffered and died.

The Evil King did not grant mercy. He did not grant quarter. He punished those who protected the traitors of his Kingdom. He sent armies of hundreds to retake a dozen villagers who escaped. The punishment for anyone who harbored runners like them: death, excruciating death for them and their family.

Running was a risk. A risk many of the starving villagers were willing to take. It was the safest risk they had available to them. Many would not survive another winter here. To those who starved to death and could do nothing to feed their families, running was a means of finding sanctuary. Sanctuary they could find either in death or beyond the borders of the Aurum Kingdom.

Even the Evil King had qualms about attacking King Midas' Kingdom. It was one of the few Kingdoms that remained willing to stand against the Evil King and his army. The Evil King commanded the largest the realm had ever seen. All men and women eligible to join the King's army often did. It was better to join the army then starve to death as a villager.

The Aurum Kingdom did not have as large an army by any means. Its army was half that of the Evil King's. What the Aurum Kingdom had was the loyalist of subjects; villager and bureaucrat alike, the fairest of laws, the promise of aide, the fiercest of warriors, the support of the Fae and far away Kingdoms the Evil King had never set foot upon the soil of. But what the Aurum Kingdom had, what they prided themselves above all else that kept the Evil King from breaching the borders with his massive army was: the Swan Queen.

If there was one person the Evil King feared could defeat him and erase all he had done, it was the Swan Queen. The Evil King feared all-out war with the Swan Queen and her allies. The woman was as powerful as the tyrannical King with greater a cause then his. The Swan Queen fought for her people. The Evil King fought for himself.

The Swan Queen promised the type of rule the people were accustomed to before the Evil King gained power. She would revitalize and restore what he had diminished and torn down.

Both monarchs were too hesitant to attempt a confrontation between their armed forces. So they used Guerrilla warfare. They undermined the other's authority. They formed bridges and treaties with other Kingdoms. They sent assassins, spies, and kidnapped enemy supporters. They drew battle lines and wiped them out of the sands they'd been drawn in before drawing new ones. For eleven long devastating years they had fought a silent war against the other. Each side losing and gaining ground as the seasons continued to pass.

The war between the Evil King and the Swan Queen arched as long as the Evil King's reign began, perhaps even before.

The Evil King stole rulership of the Kingdom he now called his own out from under the Swan Queen's nose. His underhanded tricks came with no declaration of war. No warning. He rose from the woodwork, strong, determined and dedicated to his cause: domination, dominion.

There hadn't been such a reign of terror since Regina the Evil Queen had seized control over the White Kingdom from Snow White and that had been several decades ago now.

By the time the Swan Queen realized what was happening in the underbelly of her own Kingdom it was too late. Her army and supporters were murdered in cold blood. Assassins had been sent to kill all those loyal to the fair Queen.

He hadn't even waited till the dark of night. The sun had been shining brightly over the expanse of the former White Kingdom when the ground became soaked with the blood of innocent men and women. It was as swift an overtaking as ever before. It had been done from the inside, leaving an easy ascension to the throne. An ascension the Swan Queen, then Princess, had been the rightful heir to and had been fighting to regain for the last eleven years.

It was with the promise of aiding the Swan Queen retake their once beloved Kingdom that many ran, promising to return to the families they left behind with aid, an army, one day that would once again shine light down on the once glorious White Kingdom.

Amongst the runners was a woman who saw a fallen child before her. He was only a few yards ahead of her. She had been left behind when she'd tripped up by the weeds. She had finally gained on her group of nearly twenty.

Groups weren't always safe. Some might say it was stupid to try and escape with a group but there was safety in numbers during a shift change. A group of ten could overpower one or two guards to break past the barricades. It was when the horse patrols chased after you that groups became a disadvantage. Groups were easily spotted.

Still the woman wasn't as heartless as some of those in front of her whom completely bypassed the boy. He was stumbling to his feet. He must have hit his head when he fell as he held his hand against it tightly. He was just moving up from his knees to his feet calling out for someone named "Emma" when she came upon him.

She didn't waste a moment. She hooked her arm under the boy's and hefted him to his feet. "Must keep moving boy." She instructed him through pants as she practically pulled-dragged him with her. She held him close to her side as she maneuvered them inside the pack of refugees. Better to be in the center then on the sides if the riders caught up to them.

The boy stumbled the first few steps but he was quick to follow after her. He seemed displaced as he looked all around them in the dark shadowy woods. He was groaning in pain but continued to run with her.

She wondered where his mother was. She had no children of her own, but she couldn't imagine his mother allowing him to fall so far behind her. Children often times got left behind, she'd heard stories, but never thought she'd see the devolution of humanity where a mother would abandon her son to his fate. A fate she probably forced on him by making him run, the choice never his to begin with.

"Emma…uh..where's Emma?" He asked his voice raspy. His voice held a bit of a whine to it. She couldn't see his face but she imagined it was covered in tears.

"Shh, we'll find your Emma soon." She promised. "Just a bit further. Keep on, child." She urged him as they neared the final barricade between them and freedom.

It was as the distance lessened between them and the third barricade that the riders came upon them and chaos broke out.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Henry wasn't sure where he was, what was going on, or where Emma or David or Neal were. He'd lost Emma when they were falling. He didn't know what they were falling down but he could only imagine it was similar to the rabbit hole that Alice fell down to make it to Wonderland. Or the portal that Emma and Mary Margaret fell into that brought them to the Enchanted Forest. He was just glad that they both fell into the same thing. That meant Emma had to be around here somewhere, didn't it?

He just wasn't sure. And part of him didn't care. About anything.

He woke up in the dark on the ground. Alone.

It was kind of like the woods in Storybrooke but he couldn't see the wishing well. The well was the first thing he looked for. Because his mom was still by the wishing well before he and Emma had fallen into…whatever it was they fell into.

Tears sprang to his eyes at the thought of his mother.

She was dead.

He didn't even know how. She just  _was_. And it was his fault.

It was his consequence. He made a wish with magic and his mother had paid the price, his price.

His hands were filthy. Covered in dirt and blood and accountability. He'd tried to wipe it off on his clothes but that just made him dirtier, made him sadder.

Around him people were crying too. He wasn't the only one. There were a whole bunch of men and women and some kids. They were all packed into an old rusty caged wagon.

He knew when he saw the clothes the people around him wore and the horses the people who put them in the wagon rode that he wasn't in his world anymore. The men on horses were dressed as guards. Some of them wore armor while others wore capes. They all had weapons, bows and swords and daggers and axes. No guns, like Emma or David.

He wondered which world he was in. He knew there were a lot of different worlds. Not just the Enchanted Forest or Wonderland like the book talked about. The book mentioned there being a lot of doors to travel through inside Jefferson's hat. After all Dr. Whale came from another world then the three Henry knew existed.

Without anyone with him to help figure things out he was left with questions, a lot of questions and no answers. He wasn't even sure he wanted answers. Not by the way he'd arrived here, wherever here was.

He just wanted his mom. He wanted her to hold him and make everything better to kiss the top of his head and make him feel safe and loved. Like he'd felt before she had fallen. The whole world around them was shaking and falling apart but he'd felt protected, safe in her arms. Then it all fell apart. And she didn't know. She didn't know just how much he loved her. How much he already missed her and how he needed her in his life. She didn't know. That made him cry harder.

The lady that helped him back in the woods sat next to him. Her hand was shaking as she gripped his knee. She had offered a watery smile when they were corralled into the wagon. The men on horses yelling and pushing the group he'd been pulled into. The men on horseback hurt the 'peasants'. They used their swords to cut them. He tried to forget the sight of the swords swinging down to cut the people. Blood had splashed on his face when the man to his right had been cut. He'd wiped it away and the sight of black and red on his hands set him off.

He'd started to panic. His heart had raced against his chest so fast he was afraid it was going to burst right out of his body. He wouldn't need anyone to try and grab it from his chest; it'd pop out on request. His hands had started to shake and breathing was hard. Almost as hard as it was the time he'd had an allergic reaction to strawberries. This time his mom wasn't going to run to his rescue though.

He was scared. More scared then he'd ever been in his life. Was this what his dah—Neal felt like? Was this how scared he was when he was pulled into a world he didn't understand? Had Emma felt like this when she finally started to believe in the magic all around her? Had his mom felt like this when she came to their world? Had she felt as alone and scared as he did now when she lost her mom, no matter how evil?

He didn't know how to be brave here. He'd wanted to be the hero in his own story more than anything for a long time but now that he had the chance he'd failed. He hadn't saved anyone. He'd started out with good intentions. He'd wanted to stop his mom from hurting Mary Margaret so that everyone could be happy. Now all he wanted to do was take it back. He just wanted to forget this ever happened. He was no hero. He hadn't saved anyone.

He tried to forget the blood on his hands and smeared on his face. He still felt sick to his stomach and he'd only just gotten his breathing under control. The tears were steady streams, starting and stopping whenever they pleased.

The wagon jerked as it came to a stop and a start. The movement made him nauseous.

"Sleep now, child." Henry wasn't sure he could sleep. The whimpering noises all around him put him on edge. The cramped cage was uncomfortable and stuffy and his mind wouldn't stop circling around and around.

He wondered about things. How could he be a hero now when he felt like a villain?

How did he become brave? What was he supposed to do now? He was locked up in a cage like in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with the kid catcher except there were adults locked in here with him too.

Where were they going? They were traveling somewhere, but where? Why had they been put in this cage? He hadn't done anything. At least anything that these people would know about.

Why had the guards just come and taken them all and killed those others? They hadn't even warned them about doing something wrong. The guards just rode up and started hurting people. Guards weren't supposed to do that. Were they? It didn't make any sense.

Where was Emma? Did she get sent to a different world then him? Or was she here trying to find him? Was she with Neal and David? Had they all been put in the same place? Was he the only one to be left alone? What was he supposed to do? His mom was dead and he'd made a wish without finishing it. He hadn't been specific. Mr. Gold said to be specific and he'd been stopped, his mom had interrupted him.

For a moment he was angry with her for arriving when she did, his hands clenched at his side and he glared at the darkness across from him. If she had just been a few seconds later then none of this would have happened. He could have finished making his wish and they'd all be happy.

The wagon jerked and he felt sick again. How could he be angry with her? It was his fault she was dead. He should be angry with himself, not her. He dropped his head into his knees and cried again. The woman's hand sifted through his hair to try and comfort him, but it wouldn't help. He was responsible for his mother's death. He wasn't a hero. He was a murderer, and murderers never got their happy ending.

He'd only be a hero, and deserve a happy ending if he could save his mom. Could he find a way to do that? There had to be a way didn't there? Maybe he just needed to find her true love. If he could find her true love then they could save her. That was it! He needed to get back home so he could kiss his mom's forehead. Just like Emma kissed his. He could be her true love. He could love her truly enough to make her better. That way he'd save her, he'd be a hero, and they'd all have their happy endings, because he couldn't have his happy ending without his mom.

As he thought of ways to travel to different worlds so he could get home and save his mom his eyes closed on their own accord and he fell into a fitful sleep.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Henry blinked, groggy as he heard noises.

"The King will display you all for show. Make an example of you lawbreakers."

People around him were moving. The cage was rattling like weight was being shifted from side to side. The metal groaned and people shouted while others cried in fear and pain. His eyes opened as someone's foot kicked him in the side. He groaned in pain. The pain made him wake up faster, become more aware quicker.

"Come boy, get up."

Henry followed the woman's instructions as she helped him down from the cage.

"What's going on?" Henry asked as he looked around him. Several yards away from him was a large brick wall that was as tall as the clock tower back in Storybrooke.

There were wooden houses and huts and people with carts and horses all around them, passing them by as if they weren't even there. The guards surrounded them, keeping them in a circle of sorts, trapped.

"We're going to die, that's what's going on kid." A bruised and battered man who was sickly looking he was so thin, spat at him.

Henry cringed and drew away from him. The woman who'd helped him in the woods pulled him closer to her side and glared at the man. Now that it was light out he could make out her face. She was just as thin as the man who'd grumbled at him. He could practically see the bones of her arms she was so malnutritioned.

"This is it. He's going to kill us." Someone said to his right.

Henry looked to the woman to ask her who  _ **he**_  was, but his question died on his lips when the guards came towards him menacingly. He froze as they grabbed his arm, yanking him forward. He didn't move, hardly even breathed as they tied his hands up with rope.

When the burly guards stepped away he stared down at the worn binding. He felt a pull on the rope as the guards tied the woman behind him and those behind her together. They were all shoved to make a straight single file line, just like in kindergarten. Except this wasn't as fun because the people around him were crying and seemed defeated in a way he'd only ever seen once before.

Even with death looming over the people around him the only one to fight the guards off as best he could was the man that'd been gruff with Henry. He was thrashing against the guards, threw himself against their arms to try and break past them, he didn't get far. He was being dragged back by his foot and hauled to his feet as Henry watched, unblinking.

Henry was grateful when a female guard three times the size and muscle mass of the woman behind him—whose name he still hadn't gotten—turned him to look forward.

Henry didn't see what happened. By the sickening sounds coming from the man's dying lips he didn't want to see what'd happened. Then the agonized sound stopped and his heart was racing once again. It hurt as it pounded roughly against his chest. His eyes gazed every which way as he began to panic.

He was going to die. He couldn't die. He needed to save his mom. He needed to become a hero. He needed to get away from here.

He was pulled forward by the rope around his wrists. The thick scratchy thread cut into his skin as he stumbled to follow after the people in front of him. He tried to pull his arms into himself as tight as he could to become as small as possible, but he couldn't.

As he followed after the people in front of him he looked around them. They were being led into a castle. A real castle!

He craned his neck up as far back as he could to see to the top of the castle tower but it was too big and he was already being pulled inside. The sky above the castle tower was covered in grey clouds. The air was heavy. It looked like a storm was coming.

They were lead through the halls of the castle, pushed up against the wall to allow those who worked in the castle to move freely around them. This wasn't anything like he thought it would be. Coming to a world like the Enchanted Forest—if this was a world like the Enchanted Forest—was supposed to be completely different. The first time he ever stepped foot into a castle was supposed to be his grandparent's castle. He was supposed to be welcomed as a Prince. Not as a prisoner.

Two large doors were opened and the twenty or so people tied to one another were led into a large hall with brick and stone pillars, the ceiling taller than any building in Storybrooke. He snapped his head down to look in front of him when one of the guards walked by him, checking and tightening his rope.

"Stand tall and await judgment for your crimes." A chancellor of some sort spoke from the throne.

The other prisoners were starting to cry once again but none tried to escape. They all knew the consequences of those actions.

Henry met the kind woman's eyes who'd helped him back in the woods. She had tears falling from her eyes but when she looked at him she tried to regain some courage. He appreciated her attempt.

The sound of a door opening somewhere in the hall and the introduction of a King Derrick of the White Kingdom boomed through the room.

Henry's eyes widened, White Kingdom? This was his grandparent's castle?

It couldn't be, could it? Who was King Derrick? He didn't recall any family members named Derrick from the book or the stories that Mary Margaret and David told her. His grandfather's name was Leopold and before Leopold there was King Richard. So who was Derrick and why was he ruling over his family's Kingdom as King?

Henry watched as a man who wore a golden crown glided through the room towards the raised throne. His clothes were covered in jewels and embellishments made of the finest threads. Henry couldn't help but stare. The King looked familiar. He wasn't very tall for a man, maybe 5'8 or 5'9. He had wide shoulders, was muscular and had choppy dirty blonde hair and dark green eyes. He almost looked like David except different. Henry watched King Derrick very carefully, trying to piece together what made him look like David and what didn't. Movement just behind the King caught Henry's eye.

There was a dancing grey skinned man at the King's side that as Henry looked closer, immediately recognized. Even with the grey scaly skin and the manic smile, Henry would recognize Mr. Gold anywhere.

Except, he wasn't Mr. Gold anymore. No, this was Rumpelstiltskin, just like in his book. But what was he doing here? Was this really the Enchanted Forest? If it was where were his other grandparents? And Emma? Who was Derrick and why was the White Kingdom rounding up people and killing them like this?

What world had he fallen into that his grandparents Kingdom wasn't ruled by his grandparents or Emma but by a King Derrick who seemed to trust Rumpelstiltskin?

"It has come to my attention that you lot have broken the cardinal rule of my Kingdom." Derrick's voice was a deep baritone that moved through the room into the high ceiling as it echoed around them. Derrick seemed displeased as he shook his head sadly at the group gathered before him. "Have I not been a generous King? A fair King? I only ask that you follow my directives."

Henry heard someone scuff at the King's description of himself. King Derrick must have heard it as well because his eyes zeroed in on the woman who'd been unimpressed with his lies. King Derrick gestured to a guard who then moved towards a set of women who stood beside each other, one of which had 'insulted' the King.

Henry was too busy trying to see what became of the women to notice how Rumpelstiltskin stared at him for a few moments too long.

The imp tilted his head to the side as if considering something as he stared at the young boy amongst the crowd of law breakers. He scratched at his chin as he slithered away from the dais so he could move behind the group, his focus still upon the boy.

Derrick watched as Rumpelstiltskin appraised the group, knowing the imp saw something of importance in one or two particular prisoners. It wasn't often the dark mage circled the ensnared commoners like a stalking tiger did its prey. Derrick attempted to see what his Advisor did, but saw nothing but raggedy looking commoners who would soon meet their deaths.

Ignoring his Advisor's odd behavior Derrick addressed the prisoners once again.

"You have been found guilty of treason. Guards!" Derrick called out, and every guard within hearing distance stood at attention. "What is the punishment for treason?"

The Guards answered in unison, "Death!"

"See to it then. Hang the heads of the men along the borders to deter any others from seeking out their fate and feed the bodies to the wolves."

Henry gasped as his eyes widened at the King's punishment. This isn't how things were supposed to go. There was supposed to be a trial where people were found guilty! He'd seen it on TV. His mom was a lawyer or a fake lawyer and there was something called due progress or something that kept people from being found guilty without a trial.

"And the women Sire?" The Captain of the guard asked while his men held firm to the grip they had on the prisoner's rope. Some of those men sentenced to death uneasy with their fates. It was one thing to know death was on the near horizon it was another to hear it decreed so heartlessly.

Derrick seemed to ponder the fate of the many whimpering females. "That one!" He pointed to the woman next to Henry. "Keep her." His eyes were glazed as he stared at the woman whose tears had stopped and shoulders were back with her head held high, she had gumption. He liked a woman with a bit of fight in her. It was almost that much more entertaining when he broke her. "Burn the rest." He commented offhandedly, waving his hand through the air, bored already.

Henry nearly fell over when the people attached to his rope began pulling savagely at their bindings. The guards were separating the men and the women. And two came over to take the woman who'd saved him from the rest of them.

When the guard cut the rope that held him to the women on either side of him he lashed out, his fists still tied up as he body checked the unsuspecting guard, knocking him over.

"Leave her alone!" Henry yelled at the fallen guard, putting himself between the woman and the growing contingent of soldiers.

The woman's eyes widened as she watched the boy put himself between armed guards and herself. Her eyes traveled quickly from King Derrick, the guards, before resting on the boy. Her heart lurching inside her chest at the bravery the child held and the loyalty he exhibited towards her.

Henry's heart pounded against his chest as his eyes looked from one armed assailant to the next. He was outnumbered and he had nothing to protect himself with. There was just something inside him that told him he couldn't let the King have his savoir. He needed to protect her.

Behind the ruckus Henry caused the other prisoners were led out of the hall while Henry pushed himself and the woman back until they'd hit the wall, trapping them. The woman looking helplessly from Henry to Derrick and then the guards. Her appealing gaze lost to the King as his attention was grabbed by the imp.

Rumpelstiltskin made good use of this commotion. He approached behind King Derrick and whispered into the King's ear.

"Allow me to keep the boy."

Derrick's eyes widened, his gaze snapping to the boy in question and Grace, back to his advisor. "Why?" The King questioned.

Rumpelstiltskin's eyes darkened as he glared at the impetuous King. The magic that touched Derrick's skin caused him to shiver and bow his head in contrition, but only for a moment, and just the slightest bit. He was still King. Rumpelstiltskin served him. He was now the master, not the student.

"Very well. Take the boy." Derrick looked away from Rumple quickly, "Save him yourself. I will not appear weak."

Rumple grinned, rubbing his hands together. "Gladly."

Rumple disappeared from Derrick's side with a silent transportation. Once the mage was gone Derrick turned back to see Lieutenant Thomas still upon the floor. The boy's elbow having caught him in the groin.

"Thomas, have you been bested by an infant?" The King questioned with a sneer as he watched one of his better guards quickly make his way to his feet as he continued to cringe.

"No, Majesty." He growled as he pushed his way to the front of the group surrounding the boy and the woman he stood between. "I'm going to take great pleasure in killing you boy, just so your mother can watch."

Thomas stepped forward menacingly, a dagger pulled out from his belt.

"Ah, ah, ah…" Rumpelstiltskin put himself between Henry and Thomas, an eerie grin upon his face. "The boy is mine."

Rumpelstiltskin put his hand upon Henry's shoulder and disappeared, leaving the woman to fend for herself against the oncoming guards.

Henry thrashed against Rumple's grip as soon as they appeared somewhere. His head was light, dizzy. He'd never 'poofed' somewhere before. It was just as jarring as falling into a portal. His stomach was twisted as he fell to his knees, his legs weak.

"Hmm…" Rumple hummer as he watched Henry try and crawl away from him.

"Stay away! I won't make any more deals!"  _Or wishes_ , Henry thought as he crawled towards the damp stone wall. He slowly pulled himself up using the stone. He tried not to think about how slimy it was as he did. After all his own hands were still a filthy, gory, mess.

Rumple's eyes brightened, frightening Henry. The boy knew who he was and what he could offer. What caught the imp's attention was the boys insistence that he wouldn't make 'any more' deals. The implication behind the statement sweet to the mage's taste buds.

"You are a desperate soul. I can help you find what you've lost or gain what you've never had. You just need agree."

"No!" Henry shook his head, realizing too late that doing so would only make him feel sicker. He swallowed to keep himself from getting sick. "No." He whispered as he finally looked around the room he'd been brought to. It wasn't a room per say. It was a cell, another cage. It looked like the dungeons that his mom had put Prince Charming into before Snow had bitten into the apple from his book.

The thought of his mom instantly made his eyes water as he tried to remain strong and brave.

"You're evil here." And maybe Rumpelstiltskin was evil in Storybrooke too, and he'd never seen it because he was too focused on how evil his mom was and how cool it was to have another grandpa.

"Here?" Rumple giggled with excitement, dancing a little gig as he fluttered his fingers extravagantly. "You're not from,  _here_ , are you boy?"

Henry's eyes widened suddenly. He thought about what he'd said and what he hadn't and realized he had said too much. He'd never been very good at keeping himself quiet. He always felt he needed to prove he wasn't as dump or stupid or blind as people thought he was, like his mom thought he was. He knew, he'd known for a long time exactly who she was. Then again, as he looked at how evil Rumple was and how different he was in Storybrooke, maybe his mom wasn't evil. At least not as evil as he thought, because the woman she was in his book wasn't the same woman who'd raised him.

The Evil Queen certainly wasn't the one who would stay up with him rubbing his tummy and his back when he had a stomach virus or hold a wash cloth to his head when he felt hot or had a headache. The woman in his book was much darker and would have liked to see him or anyone in pain. His mom was different. She always had been, he just hadn't realized it until now. Until it was too late.

"Oh, don't be so frightened boy. I knew the moment I saw you that you weren't from here." Rumple explained as he stared at Henry. Around Henry were bright streams of light that only a trained eye could catch. They were ripples that crashed around him while others expanded from within him. He didn't belong here. He was out of synch with this world and the 'ether' where his magic and magic in this world came from recognized that and showed itself with the tides of ripples that didn't meld together.

"Don't be shy, boy! I may be willing to help you—ah" Rumple stopped Henry from commenting seeing the boy open his mouth to say no, to refuse him before he'd even pleaded his case. He hated that in customers. "—for free."

"You never do anything for free." Henry spoke knowingly. It always served his purposes. Even when Rumple gave him the coin he did it to pay off his debt to his mom. Though now that Henry thought about it, which mom had Mr. Gold meant? Hadn't he known something like this would happen? He could see the future and the past after all. Had Mr. Gold wanted his mom to die and for him to disappear with Emma and David?

No, no he couldn't, could he? He'd lost Neal all over again, Neal was pulled into the portal with them too. Could that be it? Neal was here as well, somewhere—at least so Henry thought—and here in this world Rumple had all his magic and power unlike while in Storybrooke where magic was different and he was weaker. So was that it? Was this Rumpelstiltskin's plan all along? To have Henry make this wish so that Neal would be brought to him in the Enchanted Forest while he was still all powerful? If there was one thing that Rumple loved more than his son it was power.

"You seem so sure."

"I am sure! You always get something out of it. Always. Even if it doesn't seem like you do, you do. You always win in the end."

A cloud passed over Rumpelstiltskin's face for a moment, his eyes peering off into space. Henry wondered what he was thinking about.

When Rumple finally snapped out of his daze he peered angrily at Henry, suddenly no longer willing to play games.

"If I cannot convince you now, perhaps a few days in this cell will help you understand your situation." His voice was grave the sound of it evil.

Henry's eyes widened, looking around the cell in horror, "What? No!" Henry tried to grab onto Rumple but the imp was already gone, leaving him alone in the darkening cell, the only light coming from the torches outside the iron bars. "No! No, let me out! Let me out!" He had to find Emma, and David, and Neal. He couldn't stay here. He had to find a way to save his mom! He had to help the woman; the King was going to hurt her.

He grabbed onto the bars and tried to shake them. They didn't budge even as his whole body moved forward and back with the effort he exerted in his escape attempt. He stopped what felt like hours later when his throat was sore from all the yelling and his arms straggly from the yanking he'd done.

He peered through the opening in the bars and looked right and left. There weren't any guards as far as he could see but there were dozens of other cells like his. He fell onto the floor in huff as close to the bars as he could get. He dropped his head into his knees as he pulled them up to his chest. Hiding away as best he could.

"Finally! I thought you'd never shut up." Henry knew that voice.

"Leave him alone, shortstuff!" Grumpy! It was Leroy, but his Enchanted Forest alter ego-Grumpy! "He's just a kid." And that voice, he'd recognize that anywhere one too!

"Annoying is what he is, fleebag." Red, the woman in the cell was Ruby! "Not like his screaming done anythin' but give me a headache."

"Give him a break; he just had to deal with the Crocodile."

"Yeah, better him then us."

"You're just pissy because you missed your anniversary with one of those flying twits."

"Bet your fur covered hide I am, sister."

"Red? Grumpy?" Henry sat up onto his knees as he tried to look out the bars again to the left where both voices were coming from.

"Shit, another spy?" The two bickering adults stopped suddenly, "Who are you?" Grumpy asked, both realizing they hadn't said their names aloud. The kid shouldn't have known.

"He's just a child, and you heard the Crocodile. He wants something from him. He can't be a spy."

"Yeah, well did you see the Croc leave his cell or arrive with him? Could just be magic! Another trick." Grumpy was instantly suspicious.

"No, I heard him, he thinks the kids not from here." Of course Red could have heard their conversation the cells were wide open in front and the hallway was wide enough and made of stone that it would echo even without her wolf hearing aiding her.

Henry could imagine Grumpy rolling his eyes, "What's that translate to in normal people speak exactly?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"Well you're the People Eaters bitch, I figured you'd know."

"Damn it, Grumpy! Don't call them that!"

"Aww, have I hurt your feelings, puppy?"

Red growled loud enough that Henry could hear her, even inside his cell.

Henry must have made a sound or done something because suddenly their attention was back on him again.

"What's your name kid?" Grumpy was the one to ask him something again.

"Henry. My name's Henry."

Grumpy whispered something soft enough that Henry couldn't hear him but he could hear Red's negative 'no' as a response.

"Alright then,  _Henry_ , how did you know our names?" Grumpy's voice was rougher than normal, almost like he was trying to be as intimidating as he could without actually seeing Henry or Henry seeing him.

"Lucky guess?" Henry said unsure if he should tell them how he knew them. Would they believe him if he said.

"Damn lucky guess." Red muttered with a nervous chuckle.

"Too lucky." Grumpy gruffly replied. "Tell us the truth kid."

"I, I am. I, my name's Henry. I swear!" Henry didn't know why they'd find his name so unbelievable. "Henry Mills."

"Mills?"

"You're a miller's son?" Red asked. Red was gentler in her interrogation.

"Uh, yes." He figured he was the great grandson of a miller, so that had to count, didn't it?

"Oh horse shit!"

"Grumpy!"

"What!?"

"Can you at least pretend to be civilized?"

Grumpy huffed, obviously not dignifying that question with a response.

"Henry, Miller's son, why was the Crocodile so interested in you, hmm?"

"Crocodile?"

"Oh for the love-ah, the imp. The scaly beast you were chatting with moments before!"

"Rumpelstiltskin?" Henry asked, finding it odd that they'd call Mr. Gold a crocodile. His skin looked more like a snake's skin then a crocodile's. Though as Henry thought about it, that could be an accurate description as well. Both were scaly looking.

"Shhhhh! Jeeze, kid you don't say his name! Don't you know anything?" Grumpy stated impatiently.

"Just, what did he want from you?" Red asked trying to ignore Grumpy.

Henry could just make out Red's fingers wrapped around the iron bars of her cell, three cells down from Henry's. Grumpy was probably in the one next to Henry or the one closest to Red, which seemed odd. If they were his prisoners he wouldn't put them so close together unless he had something else planned.

"He wanted me to make a deal with him."

"What kind of deal?" Grumpy's voice wasn't as stern as it had been. He almost seemed genuinely curious now. "You didn't make one did ya?"

"No! Never again."

"Again?" Red questioned before Grumpy could. "You've made a deal with him before?"

"Kinda…" Henry sighed, thinking back to the coin that had helped get him here in the first place. "It was a mistake, an accident. I didn't mean for anything bad to happen. I just wanted to help my family." Henry grew desperate for Grumpy and Red to understand why he'd done what he had. He needed someone to tell him it was okay—as okay as it could be. He didn't mean it. Even though it was his fault he needed someone to tell him that they understood that they didn't blame him as much as he blamed himself.

Red frowned in her cell; even Grumpy did at the sound of despair lacing the boy's voice. Red could practically smell the sorrow on him, as well as the blood. She wondered if it was his, his family's or someone else's.

"He's tricky like that…" Red didn't know what else she could say. She didn't know the boy's story. She didn't know what had happened to his family when he'd only sought to help them. She could only imagine how horrifying it had been, just like it had been for countless others.

"A soulless trickster is what he is." Grumpy added, angry, but on behalf of the child the imp had taken advantage of. If he wasn't a spy. If Henry was a spy, another of the mage's apprentices in disguise, then he'd kill whoever it was himself. He was tired of being fooled and tricked. He wouldn't put anything passed the Crocodile and his bastard King.

"So you said no. He didn't seem happy about that." Red tried to get them back on topic. They needed answers. They needed to know what Rumpelstiltskin was up to now that he was making deals with children. He'd never stooped so low as to go after children before, even that was a line he hadn't crossed. He'd let children die at the order of his King but he'd never tricked a child into making a deal that cost the lives of his or her family. If Rumpelstiltskin was escalating their rebellion was going to face a great deal of difficulty matching him.

"No, he, he wants my help. But I won't help him. He's evil. I'm not evil. I'm good. I am."

Red winced, knowing Henry's personal attempt well. She often had to convince herself she was good, that her past deeds didn't make her evil, that it was what she did knowingly that counted and made her good. "I believe you, kid." Red admitted, softly hoping to ease some of the boy's pain. As much as she could, every little bit helped. She would know.

Grumpy opened his mouth to say something to the other two when the guards came back into the hall and banged their swords on each of their cages.

"Away from the bars. No talking." They ordered as they went by each cell.

Henry was quick to move so his back was flush up against the back of the cell as far away from the guards as possible. He knew what happened to people who didn't listen to those guards. He was sad though because even though Grumpy argued with the guards for a little while he stopped after an hour or so, leaving Henry alone with his thoughts and nothing more. Lately his thoughts were scarier than ever.

_Everything was shaking. The ground and the air itself seemed to move from side to side and back and forth. It wouldn't stop. Everything was moving and it was hard to stand. Right as he felt like he was about to fall someone grabbed him and wrapped their arm around him. They whispered, "I've got you." It was a promise. They wouldn't let him fall. They wouldn't let him go. He was safe in their arms. The world could continue to move and shake and flip upside down but so long as their arms were around him, everything would be okay._

_There was a lot of noise and people were screaming, someone familiar was screaming for him, and for the person that kept him anchored. They were angry and scared and confused. Everything was just so confusing, but it would be okay. Everything would be okay because they had him, held him tight._

_Until they didn't. Their arms fell away. Something warm splashed against his face everything around him turning red, dripping it down from the sky itself like a bucket of paint was thrown on a beautifully painted landscape. Then things went black and there were flashing lights of color. Some were white and others were green and brown and blue, like something was trying to come through. But couldn't._

_His hands felt wet and sticky and he tried to wipe it away on his pants but it only made it worse. Suddenly he was being pulled away. Tugged around the mid-section flying up into the nothingness around him as he reached out blindly for the slowly dripping red paint that began to take shape of a figure, a woman, lying upon a the ground. Around him a loud 'bang' filled the deafening silence and echoed in his ears over and over and over again._

**Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!**

_And then something slumped forward and the arms holding him were gone. They were gone and he was alone and being pulled away while staring at the red broken figure just out of reach._

_Henry screamed as warm arms wrapped around him and breath ghosted across his ear, whispering a broken promise:_ _**"I've got you."** _

"No, no, no. Mom!"

"Henry….Henry. Henry!"

Henry's eyes shot open at the sound of his name being called. For a moment he thought he saw his mother standing in front of him staring at him oddly. She was starting to fade away before his eyes. She was dressed in funny clothes, a ragged dress with messy hair. She seemed confused as she stared at him but her arm was outstretched towards him. Her lips moved, sounding out his name, ' _Henry_ '. But he couldn't hear her and she was fading, he could see through her now but could just make out her outline.

He reached out slowly to try and take a hold of her hand but just as his fingers 'touched' hers, she disappeared completely. She was nothing more than a mirage.

He sniffled, choking back his tears as he pulled his knees up to her chest and rocked back and forth.

**Bang!**

Henry's head shot up, the sound from his dream echoing loudly around him, making the ground beneath him tremble.

He jumped up to his feet as the sound of swords connecting echoed around him. Something was happening.

The castle was under attack.

Henry heard the jingle of keys and then a key turning a lock. He rushed to the iron bars of his cell and saw several cloaked figures opening Grumpy's cell, Red's already open. The rescuers were handing Red her cloak, which she put on as soon as she was handed it. His eyes widened, they were being broken out. The bangs must have been some kind of weapon because as he looked down the hallway there was still smog covering the area.

"Come on, let's go! We don't have much time." One of the hooded figures ordered as three others stood guard around the former prisoners.

"Wait!" Red objected to leaving, "Give me the keys."

"What?" They questioned, obviously confused. "Why?"

"Just give me the keys." Red grabbed the keys from her hooded rescuer and came towards Henry's cell. He smiled. He had just been about to plead to let him go with them. Red came right up to his cell and opened it. "Come on, Henry." She opened the cell door and held her hand out to him.

He smiled and raced to grab onto her hand, hardly paying attention to the objections that were ringing out from the group that'd come to save the two prisoners.

"I'm not taking that kid!"

"He's a spy!"

"He's just a boy."

"We can fight about this later. After we get out of the castle grounds. We'll drop him off on our way." Red promised those around her.

The group turned to one of their comrades for an answer. They wore a black cape with their hood up just like the rest of the rescuers, but they were obviously the leader. Henry wondered if it was Snow.

They waved their hand, indicating that they should all get moving. Since it wasn't an objection Henry smiled and followed after them, moving as fast as he could.

"Stick close, kid." Red ordered as she kept Henry as close to her side as she could.

Grumpy was given a weapon, his pick ax and he took up the rear. The group of three in front, and two behind him and Red cut through any of the guards that tried to stop them on their way through the halls. The guards didn't stand a chance. There were only ever one or two guards that got in their way, surprising Henry. Those bangs had been very loud and there were over a dozen guards that had held him and his group when they were tied up. So where were they? Why were there only two or three coming out at a time? Was it a trap?

Just as Henry was thinking it was a trap they came upon a hallway that one of the fighters promised would lead to the smithies. It was empty for about thirty feet, but at the end of it there were over a dozen guards rushing towards them and several more standing behind them, bows drawn.

They released a volley of arrows and Henry gasped, there was nowhere to go to hide from the deadly weapons. Red put herself between the arrows and him. He squeezed his eyes closed, his fist tightening into Red's cloak. He felt a tingling sensation against his palm as he held tightly to her. With his eyes closed he missed how one of their rescuers dropped their cape to reveal Nova.

The fairy was just as tall as the rest of them but as she dropped her cape sparkling wings appeared and the wand in her hand glowed with her magic. The air around them warmed as the winds began blowing against their backs towards their assailants.

The arrows that flew towards them turned to flower petals with a flick of her wand and the wind blowing at their backs grew stronger and stronger until it became as strong as a stone wall. It broke apart around them before slamming back together. It crashed against the charging guards, knocking them over and plowing through them, creating an escape route.

"Run!" Nova ordered as she waved the rest of them through, Henry's eyes widening at the sight of her and the magic she was capable of as he and Red flew down the hallway—Red practically carrying him with one arm as she held all the guards pressed immobile against the castle walls.

Once they reached the end of the hall Nova appeared at their side, transporting. She waved them to the right down a different hallway.

"Damn!" A cloaked figured cursed as they ran down this hallway, obviously it wasn't the one they'd wanted. Still, it was their only choice.

Henry was clueless to the layout of the castle, having only seen some of it in his book and not enough to know how to escape while being perused. He wondered how his grandfather did it so easily when it was taking so much effort from six talented individuals to escape.

Henry was out of breath, his heart racing in his chest as he followed the group out into a semi-open courtyard where many of the castle workers parted at the sight of the fleeing prisoners, none willing to risk their lives to stop them.

"Almost there Henry." Red promised as they made it to the outside of the castle, the stone floor or tile or cobblestone or whatever it was, now rocky dirt that kicked up dust as they ran.

It was funny what Henry did notice as they ran. He noticed above them the moon was full and bright as it fought to be seen through thick cloud cover. He noticed that there weren't many commoners outside but there were a lot of guards rushing towards their locations. He noticed what it sounded like to hear someone release an arrow and feel it whiz by just to his right or left or above him, Red ducking to keep from being hit. He noticed how the weapons of the 'good guys' dripped with blood and how their blades shined in the moonlight. Their black cloaks otherwise making them appear invisible in the darkness.

Henry felt like he was dreaming as their group made it to where there were six horses waiting for them. "Cut their ties!" Someone ordered and one of the cloaked figures sliced the rope that held the horses to their posts, these were obviously not the horses that the group had come with.

They were stealing horses. The good guys were stealing. But it was from the bad guys so that still made it okay, didn't it?

He didn't have much time to analyze his thoughts. Red was tossing him up onto the horse's saddle and jumping up behind him. Thank goodness he knew how to ride. He grabbed onto the lower part of the reins as one of Red's arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him against her as she spurred the horse on.

She kicked her shins against the horses' sides and they were off. Someone screamed behind them but Red didn't even stop to look who it was. Henry did. And he noticed that one of the cloaked figures had an arrow sticking out of their back and they were falling from the horse to the ground, the horse still running to keep up with the other four. Guards were on the fallen figure immediately. Henry's heart was in his throat as he tried to convince himself to say something, to tell the others to go back and get their fallen comrade, but he couldn't. He couldn't say anything.

"Hurry!" Someone screamed, making Henry look forward again.

Henry gasped as he saw the draw bridge of the castle coming down; they were going to be trapped inside. The horses started galloping faster and faster so that they just made it under the draw bridge trapping the guards inside the castle gates as they continued to ride into the night.

As the group continued farther and farther away from the castle their hoods fell away from their heads, the wind pushing it off as they urged their stolen horses to continue forward. One hood blew back to reveal short spikey dark hair, a pierced ear, Henry recognized his profile. Hook. Captain Hook.

Nova was already riding without beside Grumpy and they'd lost a rider back inside the gates that Henry didn't know the identity of. That left one more rider, the one at the head of their formation leading the way towards the forest. Henry willed the wind to blow that hood back so he could see who was leading this group, to see if he was right and it was Snow White but his body was exhausted and couldn't wait much longer.

Henry's heart pounded against his chest so hard it hurt. He could hardly breathe either and the air he was getting in was cold and sharp on its way into his lungs, making his chest ache more.

It was all just too much and as the group made it into the forest and someone said, "We're safe." He passed out in Red's arms, the dark night around them becoming darker as his lost consciousness.

**End Chapter One**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've done a lot of 'what if' stories in this fandom in particular but this will be the darkest of my stories ever written/posted. It will be dark but there will the moments of comedy and 'lightness'.
> 
> I am sorry for killing Regina. Truly I was very upset with myself while writing it. I promise things will get better. Baby steps though.


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